Buk JiJang Sa

After leaving Beakrimsa, we tried the next road, a little further up the mountain. It turned into a narrow path through the forest not big enough for two vehicles to pass each other. I was pretty sure this was the place I was looking for though.

After a couple of kilometers we arrived at a small temple and though the grounds had been changed a lot since I'd visited a few years ago, I recognized the old entrance gate and the tiny hall with its over sized roof.

The temple site was founded in 465, though not much remains from that time, other than some foundation stones and a couple of pagodas that were probably installed at least a couple of hundred years later. The main Buddha Hall burned down a long time ago and was never rebuilt so the Amita Hall was turned into the Buddha Hall. The main feature of the temple, though, is the small hall in which an old stone Jijang Bosal is enshrined. The temple now takes its name from this statue, Buk Jijang Sa. Just behind the Jijang Hall is also one of the nicest Mountain Spirit Halls I've entered, with several interesting tiger images, inside and out.

After bowing in each of the three halls and absorbing some of the peaceful atmosphere, we headed back to the parking lot but took a few more minutes to try picking a persimmons with the long bamboo pole with the net fixed to the end. It's not as easy as it looks, put we each managed to get one. You have to get the persimmon through the hoop, then twist it around a couple of times and give a good tug.

The trip to the temple was worth the visit even just for the drive back through the twisting pines. There's an amazing energy driving through them, not like any other place I've been to in Korea like it.